AFL 2013

[Andrew]

I've been slacking a bit but today Geelong picked up Rivers & H Mac.

Must say they are some great pick ups... Don't know how you'll feel Troy.

 

[Troy]

I actually don't mind McIntosh leaving. At North he was number two behind Goldstein whereas at Geelong he is easily their number one ruckman. He will get more game time so I can't blame him for leaving. It is a shame because now if Goldstein goes down there is no depth but North just need to recruit well to cover that. One plus is that it frees up around $450k a year that can be spent on some other players.

Matt Campbell may be on the move from North as well to Port where in return North get Ben Jacobs. Campbell struggled to break into the team other than as a sub this year but it is a little disappointing that he wants to leave. Jacobs looks like a promising young defender so it could work out well for both teams in the end.

 

[Troy]

BRISBANE Lions captain Jonathan Brown has escaped serious injury after being hit by a car while cycling on Tuesday morning.

Brown was riding with a group of about 20 cyclists on the Gold Coast when the accident occurred in the Currumbin Valley.

He was taken to Gold Coast hospital where he had a thorough check up - including scans - and was cleared of any serious injury.

The 30-year-old received 10 stitches to an elbow and personally contacted Lions' officials to notify them he was OK.

The accident continues a horror run of bad luck for Brown, who has suffered three horrific facial fractures in the past 20 months.

Brown can't catch a break can he. Crazy that even off the football field he can't escape it. Shows how tough he is though that he is fine with a few stitches and the car had to be towed away.

 

[Andrew]

Browny's a tough nut!

If a car gets towed away and Brown has a few stitches

 

[Aniking]

Brown - 1
Car - 0

He just takes it all in his stride. Even with those facial fractures and all that happened to him last season and pre-season this year, he was always like "It sucks but whatever, I'll be back playing soon". Definitely can't catch a break, but I think he'd prefer this shit to happen now then around the time he won a couple of Premierships.

 

[Troy]

So in the end 29 players moved clubs during the trade period but Kurt Tippett wasn't one of them.

Adelaide and Tippett are now in trouble for some secret contract that wasn't submitted to the AFL. Apparently it gave him an extra $200k, said that they would trade him home to Queensland for a second round draft pick and some extras like paying for Joel Tippett to relocate to Adelaide. Crazy thing for Adelaide to get involved with as this, if found to be true, will cost them draft picks and a fine. Apparently it may even lead to Tippett being deregistered.

Not sure why Adelaide even needed to break the salary cap as 2009 was the year when quite a few of their top veterans retired and there weren't really that many big stars at Adelaide that they needed to pay big money to.

 

[Troy]

Crazy off season this year.

Jason Gram has been sacked by the Saints after he was arrested and charged, apparently for stalking. He had been given a few chances by St Kilda and they had had enough and fair enough. He is a quality player and only 28 so I can see another club picking him up, maybe Sheedy will be able to keep him on a short leash.

More news has come out with Melbourne and tanking, now three former employees, including the head coach and an assistant coach, have said that they attended a meeting where they discussed tanking in 09. Can't believe how long AFL have taken over this subject they need to make a stand to prevent it from happening again. They got rid of the priority pick which is a good thing but clubs should be punished as well.

 

[Aniking]

Surprised about the whole Jason Gram sacking. I had no idea he was suspended in September for behavioural issues, so this is all news to me. Quality player and I hope a club picks him up once he has tackled his problems. Be a shame for a great player like him to be sitting on the sidelines for a year. Another reason why I want him to be picked up is because he looks like Christian. I like saying "Hey look, Christian's got the ball!". I know, pretty lame haha.

I'm pretty disappointed about some of the players the Bombers have let go, particularly today. The ones I don't mind are Anthony Long (rookie that was too injury prone) and Mark McVeigh (retired, wasn't going to get many games next season) but the rest I'm not overly pleased with.

- Brendan Lee: looked decent with the two or three appearances he made at the end of this season, coming in with some praise behind him.
- Angus Monfries: was always a consistent contributor, nothing major, but it was his choice to leave, not the clubs. We offered him two years and he decided to go to Port Adelaide instead. Good luck to him.
- Sam Lonergan: I have no idea why we let him go. He could never catch a break with Hirdy, playing well the games he got selected for, only to be omitted the following week. I rate him and hope he goes on to become a valuable player with another club. My guess is somebody had to make way for Brendan Goddard and it was him.
- Kyle Reimers: was unfortunately the guy who got cut whenever Leroy Jetta or Alwyn Davey returned, but when he was on his game he was awesome. The problem with him is he was never consistenly on his game, but I would've liked to see him kept.

 

[Troy]

Israel Folau quit AFL today;

ISRAEL Folau has admitted he didn't have the "passion" to keep playing in the AFL.

The 23-year-old confirmed on Thursday afternoon he's quitting Greater Western Sydney, just two seasons into a four-year contract, estimated to be worth $6 million.

"The last two years I've really enjoyed my experience at the Giants," Folau said.

"In the end the passion wasn't quite there, and I think if I was staying I guess I was kind of cheating myself, so I had to be honest and move forward."

Folau insists it was not a poor choice to switch from rugby league to the AFL.

"It definitely wasn't a mistake, because the last two years I've really enjoyed. I've learned a lot about the game and about myself, so I wouldn't change the experience for anything."

A former star in the National Rugby League with the Melbourne Storm and the Brisbane Broncos, Folau has been heavily linked to a move back to the NRL.

There was a lot of talk during the year that he would go but I assumed that he would see out his contract. He would have made a pretty penny over the past two years and now he can get back to the sport he loves. I guess there is no point playing on if you don't have the passion for it.

Karmichael Hunt clearly has the passion, and talent, and so he will be the only big name convert left. Hunt has already signed another contract and hopefully he sticks with AFL for the rest of his career.

This really makes things interesting with Tippett. GWS now easily have enough money to pay the $1 million a year that he demands and have earlier draft picks as well. Tippett wants to move to Sydney and Blacktown is less than an hour away. Would be a fantastic pickup by GWS.

 

[Andrew]

I lol'd about Falou, good thing K Hunt is still a sucessor and will continue to be proven as a good footballer.

Geelong has a few night home games next season which will be interesting, will go to the Gold Coast game to check it out, only five minutes drive for me.

With Gram on the draft list, I hope Bulldogs can pick him up (Not sure if he's allowed to play AFL next season but if so, we should chase him). Quite a good player, just a spud outside footy.

 

[Troy]

Yeah Hunt keeps improving each year and was a key player last season, hopefully he continues to get better.

Can't believe that North ended up with the hardest draw along with Hawthorn. Tough assignment but it will be a good test for the team and if we do make finals next year we will deserve it. Double up games against Hawthorn, Adelaide, Geelong and Collingwood is damn tough. Surprised that Adelaide ended up with a very easy draw and that Bulldogs ended up with one of the toughest as well.

I think that Gram will be allowed to play next year.

 

[Aniking]

I doubt the Bulldogs would land Gram. It makes no sense to get rid of Lake but bring in a guy only two years younger than him. Not to mention Justin Sherman is two years younger than Gram and they let him go.

Not surprised about Folau leaving. I didn't think he would ever last the length of his contract, so this announcement is no surprise to me. Other than the exposure his signing gave the game in Western Sydney, it was a failure. They only signed him for the exposure and he only signed for the money, no matter what any of them say. As for Hunt, he grew up playing AFL so he already understood the game and the tools necessary to succeed. He was a signing also to gain some exposure but to shape into an actual AFL footballer. I believed Hunt could be successful but I knew Folau wouldn't, even though I hoped to be proven wrong.

Surely now GWS can afford Kurt Tippett. If they paid Folau more than what Tippett wants, the only thing stopping the move from happening is Tippett himself.

 

[Andrew]

IT WAS only an exhibition match but Port Adelaide's Brad Ebert could not stop his raw emotions from surfacing in south London.

Understandably so, following a difficult couple of months since the death of his best mate John McCarthy on an end-of-season trip to Las Vegas.

After kicking the winning goal against the Western Bulldogs in Port's 14.4 (88) to 13.9 (87) win from 50m out on the boundary line with 40 seconds remaining, Ebert kissed the black tape on his arm and looked to the skies to salute his former teammate.

"There are a lot of emotions going through the last few months and obviously Dani, John's girlfriend, was here tonight and over the last year we have got on really well," Ebert said.

"He was my best mate and so it was great to be able to kick that goal and even though it was only an exhibition match, it was really nice to be able to do that.

"I had to give it a bit, just give him a salute."

The passing of McCarthy, who also played for Collingwood, had pained ex-West Coast player Ebert after the pair formed a strong bond since arriving at Alberton Oval from different clubs 12 months ago.

"We will always have J-Mac's memory with us," he said.

"We will be able to move on and while it still will hurt for a long time, we will be able to use that on the footy field."

Ebert believed the pre-season trip to Europe, that included a stop in Milan, had been vital for the players making a fresh start following a horrible 2012.

"Just get to know the young blokes and a few of the coaches and start building," he said.

"For me personally, I got a few good weeks before the camps to be able to come away with my girlfriend and catch up with a few mates over here and get away from everything that was happening in town."

Ebert said players and their partners had persuaded McCarthy's girlfriend Dani Smarrelli, who had to be comforted post-match at The Oval, to make the trip to the UK.

"She was initially going to come over with John and after everything that happened she was going to cancel it but the flights were already booked," Ebert said.

"We just sort of said 'why don't you come across'.

"It was nice for her to get away as well otherwise she would have just been stuck in Melbourne ... and not been able to get over here and get around the girls and try to have a bit of fun. I think it has been good for her."

With both teams far from full strength, the Bulldogs opened up a six-goal lead in the third quarter before the Power responded with nine unanswered majors in front of a crowd of nearly 10,000 on a cold, clear night.

The Dogs reclaimed the lead before Ebert sealed the win with a beautiful kick from a tight angle.

---------------

Shattered Dogs lost, apparently we were 40 points up at one stage.

​

 

[Troy]

Yeah it seems like the two teams took turns in taking control, would have been good for those that turned up to see a close match. Doesn't mean anything though as so many key names were missing from both teams.

 

[Troy]

The following statement was released today by AFL General Manager Football Operations Adrian Anderson.

"In accordance with AFL Player Rule 17, which relates to the enforcement of the AFL Draft and Total Player Payments, I have today charged the Adelaide Crows Football Club, Adelaide Crows Chief Executive Officer Steven Trigg, former Adelaide Crows General Manager Football Operations John Reid and Adelaide Crows listed-player Kurt Tippett each with the following two charges:

Charge 1

Contrary to Rule 17 of the Rules, in or about September and October 2009, you engaged in conduct prejudicial to the Draft.

Charge 2

Contrary to Rule 17 of the Rules, between September 2009 and October 2012, you engaged in conduct in breach of the Total Player Payments provisions in the Rules.

"Again in accordance with Rule 17, the Adelaide Crows FC, Mr Trigg, Mr Reid and player Tippett were today advised in writing of the charges.

“The Adelaide Crows FC, and each of the three individuals, have been advised their charges will be heard before the full AFL Commission next Monday, November 19, at 1pm at AFL House," Mr Anderson said.

As background to all media, the AFL wishes to re-state key parts of the AFL Player Rules, which are as follows:

Under Rule 17, the AFL may investigate any matters relating to conduct prejudicial to the National Draft and / or conduct in breach of the Total Player Payments provisions.

If after conducting an investigation, the AFL suspects that any person or Club has or may have engaged in conduct prejudicial to the National Draft and / or in conduct in breach of the Total Player Payments provisions, charges may be laid against the person or the Club.

The Commission has the power to impose penalties as it sees fit, including:

a. Clubs - financial sanctions and / or eligibility to participate in up to four draft selection meetings and / or loss of the right to register any player to whom a rule breach relates;

b. Players - financial sanctions and / or exclusion from the right to participate in the Draft process.

c. Club Staff - financial sanctions and / or the right to perform any role for or on behalf of the Club.

It is not appropriate for the AFL to make any further comment before next week’s hearing by the full AFL Commission.

So Crows and Tippett have finally been charge and on Monday will get to present their case. I definitely see Crows getting shut out of the first couple of rounds of the next couple of seasons plus will receive a huge fine. With Tippett I really don't know what AFL will do, I just can't see them deregistering him. Would be funny though if he was allowed in the draft and then taken by anyone other than Sydney. It would be pathetic if he isn't punished and still gets to go to the club of his choice, just wouldn't be right.